Klagenfurt please!

Every year, Velden in the South of Austria hosts an event called Fete Blanche where young and old get together and dress in white, drink wine and simply have fun. At this time of the year, the Viennese drive down to enjoy the refreshing water of the Wörthersee and an exciting clubbing experience in white. And so did my friends and I.

Unable to get a room in Velden itself, we could only stay at a hostel in the city of Klagenfurt 20 kilometers away from the party. Arriving at the event, we got the party started: drinks were drunk, jokes were told, and laughs were laughed. All went well until we decided to go home around sunrise. Not being the only tired party animals, we couldn’t get a cab and making things worse, it started raining. At that point we decided to walk. Being the lady that I am (although I was desperate to get out of the torturous heels) walking bare-foot was not an option, so I raised my arm hoping for a savior. Suddenly a red car screeched to a stop at my side, a young man peeked out of the window and asked if we needed a ride. Waving my friends over, the four of us climbed in. “Klagenfurt please!” we yelped and settled back. “No problem! I live there!” He began to talk, yet to me it sounded like “Bla bla bla.”

Just as we thought our adventure was over, the car began to jolt, puff and slow down. We were all wide-awake as our young driver said, “Well what do we have here! We are out of petrol. Let’s see how far we can roll.” Roll?! This couldn’t be: we were 10 kilometers away from our destination and still on the high way! Parking on the side of the road, we envied the cars speeding by, waiting for a technician to come and pump us up. It was the quietest hour and a half I have ever spent in a car. Lesson learnt: When all fails, just keep on walking!

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THE VIENNA REVIEW is a publication of Vienna Review Publishing GmbH, Vienna, Austria, a journal of news, culture, lifestyle and opinion covering the life and times of Vienna, Austria and the wider Central Europen region. It is published in English.